


Collective Memory

by true_detective



Category: Bon Appétit Test Kitchen (Web Series), Bon Appétit Test Kitchen RPF, Chef RPF
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-12-04
Packaged: 2020-11-27 20:01:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20954099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/true_detective/pseuds/true_detective
Summary: Fifteen years after the end of what came to be later known as the "Original BA Gang", the former BA Test Kitchen Staff collect their memories of those days.





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> First part. Would there be a second? Maybe. Being thinking about this story for a while.

**Claire Saffitz, coffee shop near Central Park, September 2036. **

We just didn’t know. 

I think that explains in part what happened at BA in those days, and all the things that followed. Sure, the idea of having people cooking in front of a camera was not new, but keep in mind that we were not trained to act as professional chefs showing how to do things. And to be honest, we didn’t get a lot of practice when things started rolling. You see, in my case I was a food editor who ended up doing some cooking videos before _Gourmet Makes_. Later in life (too late) I learned that you need to develop a _persona_, a character to be in front of the camera, something that is not the real you; because you need that dissociation to keep your privacy and your sanity. I was trained to write, to analyze, test recipes, sure, but not to do all that stuff in front of a camera; you feel the pressure you know? That was one of the reasons why ended going freelance. Did I see myself five years into the future still doing the same stupid junk food over and over for _Gourmet Makes?_ No. 

I do remember the day we starting shooting the first episode, where I made those abominable _Twinkies_ -which by the way, are no longer available since the company filed bankruptcy about 5 years ago- and the feeling of “what the hell am I doing this for?” that I felt while going home that night was something I would experience more markedly towards what became the end of the series. Because sure, Adam and Condé Nast knew they had a gold mine between everything that was happening those days -the Test Kitchen chefs were referred by Adam as "the brand of BA" and good money was flowing because of them, the merchandise, the parties, the videos - but no one had figured out a plan for the time things would start to feel awkward, and all the tension that was building up since day one would explode. 

If I remember correctly, I was dividing my time those days between _Gourmet Makes_, my first cookbook and some writing I did for the NYT and other magazines. In a sense, life was pretty much figured out, right? I was living with my boyfriend at the time, and he would comment every now and then how the customers at the restaurant would tell him “say hi to Claire” or how they would mention before leaving “please! Can you ask Claire to make gourmet _Chef Boyardee_ or _Sour Patch_ or _Butterfinger????!!!_” and a large etcetera, the same type comments I would get on sometimes on the street and in my Instagram account. And while now if someone said something like that, I would feel appreciated by the mere fact of receiving a suggestion or would at least hear the whole thing with a real sense of interest , the truth is that in those days I got increasingly annoyed by those comments; although I wasn’t sure why and didn’t express it… at least not too often. 

But when we all got together for an event BA threw in the Fall of 2019, I came to realize I wasn’t the only one feeling like that. For that event I did some baking demos and between all the prepping, shooting and meeting with the people that attended the event I was starting to feel tired when the night came, but the party was still going on. So I stepped outside to sit in one of the benches and was looking around when I noticed a very familiar beanie behind a bush. I walked slowly and found Brad sitting on the floor with a beer on his right hand and his eyes closed. For a moment, I thought he was sleeping but also noticed he was frowning... as if thinking something deeply. 

“Brad?” … I whispered quietly “can I sit here?” 

“Oh, hey Claire! You done with the baking?” 

“Yes… What are you doing here?” 

“Just getting a little air, ya know?” he said, but the expression between his eyebrows remained the same. Now, if you knew Brad as I knew him back then the fact that he remained silent after two or three minutes straight felt strange, Brad had the habit of speaking nonstop all the time then. So, I asked softly “what’s the matter, Brad?” and he didn’t speak for a few seconds as if he was trying to gather his thoughts, but then said with a very low voice “Well, this is what happens: I am tired Claire, tired of playing the same character over and over again” took a deep breath and continued “Sometimes I have the feeling that I am nothing but a cartoon character for most people. Sure, I don’t speak English very well, but I am getting annoyed of people expecting me to say _wourder_, or _big boy_ every 5 secs ya know?, I feel that people expect me to be in a certain way, the Brad they see on camera, and playing the same thing over and over is exhausting to be honest, plus since Vinny left nothing has been the same. Getting out of the Test Kitchen to focus on the videos was supposedly going to make this thing easier… But I don’t feel it becoming easier” and then he turned and looked me directly into the eye and laughed “but I guess you Ms. Harvard don’t have to deal with any of the nonsense I am saying”. 

For the first time I was speechless. Not because I didn’t have anything to say, as I surely had, but because Brad had articulated almost all the feelings I had been growing for a while. I was tired of people also expecting me to comply with the most ridiculous requests for _Gourmet Makes_, I was tired of having to shoot 2, 3, 4 days with frustration building in after each take, with the director provoking me constantly, but most importantly, I was starting to feel all of this couldn’t last forever. And if Brad had the same feeling then, at least, I wasn’t crazy. 

So, the only thing I could say was “Do you remember when we made the sourdough doughnuts? I asked for a drink with you the second day of shooting, and we ended up never having it. I guess this would be a good time”. 

“Yeah, you are right. Probably this would be a good time”. 

He stood quickly, ran to where the party was to grab a couple of beers and said “Cheers, Half-Sour". And I couldn’t help to feel a knot in my stomach and wonder where all this was leading into. 

But we were being just ourselves, and we just didn’t know.


	2. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Second (first) interview

** Chris Morocco, at his restaurant, Brooklyn, July 2036. **

I am 56 years old, 56! and of course, I think often about those days. The older I get the more I realize that was probably –professionally speaking- the most rewarding time I’ve ever had. Even more than opening _ Motifs. _But let me take a step back and tell you how I ended up at BA, because I think it shows in a better way the situation of everyone at the Test Kitchen around 2018 or so. Right after I finished college, I got a job at a magazine doing production management. Fun but stressing job, helped me pay the bills and most importantly, gave me feeling of how a magazine worked, which proved very helpful when I was the first time at BA. Oh, you didn’t know? Yes, I was twice there. 

So, while at my first job post-college I thought I could go back and do some culinary training; but not to become a line chef, but to seek a career in food media. So, I went to culinary school in the early 2010’s and got a job the first time as associate food editor at BA. There, I worked on the Test Kitchen for about three years writing articles and developing recipes. At the end of my third year a friend on a different magazine contacted me to get a position there. Sounded good on paper, ended up not being what I thought. Now, the good thing about the first time I was at BA is that I did my work well and connected with people, and that left the door open when I contacted them about returning; in other circumstances I think things could have ended very differently. 

It was the second time I was at BA that I met Claire Saffitz. it happened the second day after my return when I asked what was she baking. I really liked her. Very serious, professional and with a methodic approach to things, which later became crucial when she started hosting Gourmet Makes. Can you imagine _ Gourmet Makes_ if Brad had been the host? Let that sink in. 

One thing I always liked about Claire is that although she had a very good curriculum, and was more skilled than most of us in the Test Kitchen in certain areas, she was never shoving those things in your face. Later, when we shot one of the _ Making Perfect _series and went to her parent’s house, I came to know that her father was a famous endocrinologist. Nice family, good education, solid skills and a good dose of humility and hard work. As cliché as it may sound, all that blended together and molded Claire’s very particular personality. 

A word to describe her? Complex. There were areas of her that you didn’t understand, or things that left you puzzled. Like, she could tell you about all the renovations she would do on her kitchen and all the small details involved, but never said anything about her family or her boyfriend, albeit some sporadic mentions here and there. Or she was methodic and very perseverant, but had trouble to show up early at work. And I am not criticizing her, I am just telling you the kind traits that _ were _ Claire, that made her so unique. 

And then there was Brad. The direct opposite of Claire, in many aspects. He came to the test kitchen a couple months after I got my first job there. He was an intern I believe. It was weird and funny to see this very tall guy with a ponytail –the days of the beanie were still in the future- doing basically the job of a dishwasher/shopper/handyman and sprinkling all the things he did with his chaotic energy. We didn’t interact very much at the beginning and to be honest, I felt that he belonged somewhere else... a cabin in the woods where he would be surviving on wild game and mushrooms, something like that. Reminded me of Viggo Mortensen’s character in _ Captain Fantastic _, but with a boatload of randomness. 

But as I was saying we didn’t interact very much at the beginning. As he kept working and climbing ranks in the kitchen, we got to know each other a little better. The ponytail was cut, the beanie and the beard made their appearance and that was the version of Brad everyone saw on the internet. 

If I ever thought Claire and Brad were anything else than friends? Well, you’ve seen the videos, you tell me. They had chemistry, that’s undeniable. But, I don’t want to say something that may end up being misinterpreted by any of them, I still consider both my friends I guess, even if we haven’t been in touch in over a decade. But I will tell you something: 

They always gravitated toward each other. If Claire was having a breakdown, she would end up being at Brad’s station. Brad was always making her laugh, and she genuinely enjoyed that. Yes, Brad had a family back then and she was aware of that, and she had a boyfriend (at least in the paper) and he was aware of that but for some reason this methodical, erudite woman was always cracking up when Brad was around yelling like a Cossack, and we all noticed that. What I can tell you is that they complemented each other very well at work: she was the method, he was the chaos, she was the voice of reason, he had the crazy ideas, Claire was theory first, and Brad was practice first. That chemistry was enough to fuel the imagination of a lot of people, which later caused some trouble, I think… but that’s something you would have to ask them directly, supposing they agreed to talk with you. 

But as I was saying, I also got my part in the show. I still don’t call it my show, because I always felt –and I still do- that the appeal of everything we did was largely because we were perceived as a gang. Even tough Claire’s and Brad’s shows were the most popular, the stories interconnected together, we shared the same space, we all appeared in one way or another in everyone else’s videos. And that’s how I ended doing _ Reverse Engineering. _ It was Carla’s idea, because she always teased me for smelling something before trying it. Did I enjoyed doing it? I enjoyed the challenge of using all the senses but sight to deconstruct a dish in my mind, and then recreate it. It was fun and I had to use my imagination many times to recreate flavors, textures, and to imagine the appearance of the dish itself.

What I didn’t like was the nickname I got. _ The Nose _ , that’s what people started calling me. I know, it was not offensive, but I mean, _ the Nose! _ it lacks any type of cadence, or relationship to what I was trying to do. As fun as everything was, I was almost 40 when these things were happening. I had a wife, kids, and I was considering my options for retirement. And then one day someone played with a stupid app that made you look older, and I saw Grandpa Morocco smiling with a bowl of kimchi in his hands and it was clear: I wouldn’t be doing videos until I was 80. Would you like to see an old man smelling dishes and deconstructing them? I knew I wouldn’t. 

And the answer was rather simple: I was a chef, I was pretty well known, and I had a good nose. A restaurant seemed like a good choice. And that’s how I ended up opening _ Motifs. _


	3. III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vinny recalls the origins of _It's Alive._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Third chapter. Let me know what you think in the ole comment section!

**Vincent Cross, John F. Kennedy International Airport, December 2036**.

“Who’s better than us, Vin?” 

That’s what Brad used to say. “Who’s better than us?” Well, let me tell you something: For a while, in the niche of food media, _no one_ was better than us. Back in 2015 I got a job at BA; the job required video shooting and editing, but also I could present new ideas and concepts on how to approach things, which was the main reason why I accepted it. I met Brad on my first day while I was at the Test Kitchen; I was looking at a jar in his “fermentation station”, when I heard a voice behind me: “pretty cool, huh? That’s kombucha I’ve been brewing for a while now... Want to taste? Brad Leone, nice to meet ya”. And while we drank ginger-infused kombucha we chatted about his fermenting ideas, and how we both liked to fish, hunt and hike. That’s how everything began. 

Up to that point, the premise at BA was simple: Instructional videos on how to prepare food. Now, back then food media –and I mean “serious” food media, like the one associated to a magazine- had the same purpose: teach something. And that’s why you didn’t require a charismatic person teaching how to cook, because the viewer was interested _in_ the food itself. Explain the recipe, get some cool shots and boom, you have a video. Now, if you think about it for a second, you will realize that you don’t need anything special from the video editor if you are shooting a video like that. You know what the purpose of the video is, you are following a recipe, anyone that is reasonable experienced in video editing can do the job, just follow what the recipe says. This concept will be important in the history later. 

The first time we shot a conventional video with Brad, it was a disaster. Brad’s personality wasn’t simply designed to be repeating things in front of a camera, he had to repeat everything multiple times because he would say things wrong. When we saw the finished version of that first video –grilled octopus, I think- we all said unanimously, “that is not Brad”. You could tell that he was trying make himself fit in the recipe-explainer mold, with poor results. 

And that’s when I started telling my boss about shooting a video just following Brad around, letting him do his thing. “Fine” he said one day, not convinced but annoyed enough of my insistence. So back we went, to the place we first met, the fermentation station, and Brad made kombucha. Oh boy, the raw footage was a mess. But, I knew Brad, and that’s why I knew how to get things started “what’s SCOBY Brad?”, “why do you keep the kombucha in the walk-in?”, so he could have something to grab and get the camera rolling. We got our video. My idea was that at best, I could edit it into something usable, but then Hunzi came in. He was hired around the time we shot that kombucha video and I knew he was a comedian (he mentioned it casually once). So, one afternoon I invited him over to my place to see the footage I had of the kombucha video and armed with some beers and pizza we saw 45 minutes of Brad spilling kombucha, cursing and saying _wourder_ multiple times. When the video ended, I turned to Hunzi and said “what do you think?” and I will never forget the look in his eyes when he said, “this is really good! Can I help you edit it?”. 

So, we agreed on having him edit the raw footage and extracting the best bits, and I would meet with him every now and then to tell which parts I thought we needed to keep in order to show who Brad was, because at this point the video was not about the kombucha itself, it was about Brad _doing_ kombucha. I think I told Hunzi that I wanted the final video to keep Brad’s essence, his charisma, his humor, his weird word spelling, showing who he _was_. Hunzi edited the video for about three weeks I think. One day he came to my desk and said “Hey, got a minute? I think I have finished the editing of _our_ video”. We went to his desk and while putting the headphones on I asked:

“How long is the video?”

“About 10 minutes”, he replied.

I looked at him and was about to say something when he added “just watch it first”. 

And I watched. It was really really good, the animations and timing of the music and cuts were precise; it was funny, and it was something I had never seen before on a cooking video. Brad’s essence was in it and he was the star, but the editing took things to a whole different level. Hunzi had managed to take 45 minutes of raw mess and turn them into 10 minutes of the best mess I'd ever seen.

“Holy shit, Hunzi”.

Now, the bad thing was that our superiors weren’t as happy as we were with the video. “But it’s not focused on the food!” they said, “but that’s exactly the idea!” I would argue. Long story short, the video was shelved for about six months, but I kept pushing. Until one day I told my boss “There is enough bad content in the internet already, what’s the worst that could happen?”, and he replied “Fine upload it, but if we get bad feedback you won’t shoot that thing again”.

We uploaded the video, and the rest is history.


	4. IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ole Brad himself recalls the early BA days with Claire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fourth chapter, took a while. Let me know what you think in the Ole Comments!

** Brad Leone, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda, January 2037. ** ****

Are you planning on making a book out of this? If that’s the case, I think this will be a two-hour interview. Are you OK with that? Cool. Oh boy, the ole  _It’s Alive_ days! Vinny told me you interviewed him already, so I won’t repeat the same stuff but, I can tell you that I never, ever thought of things going the way they did. Me, a Jersey guy with no college education, having the opportunity to travel a lot, do fun stuff, meet people, make friends… it was a dream. It was  good  while it lasted. 

Now, I think I would like to start saying a word about Claire and the early days before I cover why things came to an end later. It’s the first time I do this, I never said anything back then because I didn’t want things to be misinterpreted (but they were by a lot of people) and I was trying to keep everything professional after all we were friends, you know? . However, I think that enough time has passed by and I can speak freely about my perspective on how we interacted with each other. 

We would have to go back to 2013. That’s the year Claire and I met. I was already the Test Kitchen Manager and she started her job at BA that year. Back then only Carla was working at BA, Chris had just left –although he returned about a year later- and Andy wasn’t there, and neither Amiel, Gaby or Molly were around. Just received an email from Gaby the other day, she is doing great in Argentina these days it seems, never been there, may pay a visit to an old friend sometime. What was I saying? Oh yeah, so I met Claire that year, she was very formal, very professional “Claire  Saffitz  , I am the new food editor” and extender her arm when Carla introduced her. I shook her hand and said “Welcome to the Test Kitchen Claire! Brad Leone, I run the place”. And she started to laugh with that laugh only Claire had -it was sincere, honest- but her eyes also laughed, if you will, and that made her laugh contagious; we both ended laughing that time we met. 

Over the next few months we spoke frequently, because we usually were earlier at the Test Kitchen –I had to order the walk-in before everyone started cooking- and she liked to start her day early, which gave us around 25 minutes to catch up every day, plus most of the time we coincided in the elevator in our way to the subway station. Speaking with Claire was easy for me, she always had something to add, about almost anything. She would mention that popcorn popped in two different shapes, or that salt was hygro-  hygrostic  , something like that, random facts about things you  know  ? ,  but when she did it wasn’t pretentious at all and I liked that. We got along  really well, and in those conversations, I learned that she was from St. Louis, went to Harvard (no surprise), lived in Canada and France for a while and that her family lived somewhere in  Massachusetts  . 

She seemed to enjoy my stories about the things I had done previously as a carpenter, renovating and painting (remember the Rat King?), how I lived in the woods for a while with a couple of friends ,  about my multiple accidents at work or the many times I made road trips by myself. She always  said  “we’re so different Brad, you’ve done many things I have never tried”. And I replied “You  gotta  live you know? Time moves with the energy you put out  there” and  then we would laugh.  However, we never spoke about anything personal, like who we were dating or stuff like that . I guess it would have been weird to do it. I wasn’t dating anyone in those days; I was texting every now and then with Peggy -we met through some mutual friends and had gone hiking with them a couple times-, but it was nothing serious. 

It was a Friday night -I remember it clearly- when BA hosted an event to reveal that year’s best restaurants in NYC. I showed up late, around 10 pm or so, just for the party, and the place was packed. I knew Claire was around somewhere because she mentioned earlier in the week that she was going to attend the event, but I didn’t see her when I got there. By midnight I already had about 7 or 8 beers and decided things weren’t interesting enough and was about to leave when I received a text from Peggy, asking if I was awake. “Yeah, about to leave from a work event”, I texted and added “any plans for tomorrow? I am planning on doing  some fishing  in the afternoon”. “I would love to go!” she replied. “Sounds like a plan! Call you in the  morning!“  I replied. With that perspective, I got in the elevator and the doors were closing when I heard someone calling my name. 

“Brad! Stop the elevator!” 

“Claire! You here? Where you going  ?” 

“Home! Didn’t see when you arrived, where have you been? thought you were not coming” 

“Showed up late and am calling it a night. Share a cab?” 

“This is _not_ a cab Brad” 

“No, but you get the analogy, don’t you Ms.  Saffitz?” 

“Uh-huh” 

So  we were in the elevator, I was looking at the ceiling and I think Claire was looking at her shoes when I asked “Any plans for the weekend?” 

“Not much” she said and turned at me, and it was then when I noticed that her cheeks where red. “I think I drank a little too much tonight, and I um... had a date for lunch with someone but might postpone it”. 

“A date huh??!! Who’s the lucky guy?” 

“His name is Harris... why do you ask?” she said, looking me directly into the eye. 

“Just, ahem, you know, asking... I didn’t know you were dating someone”. 

“Well, I feel weird, it’s been a while since I’ve dated anyone”. 

“WHAAT??? I can’t believe it!” 

“I’ve been always busy with work or school and I’m not very good for social interaction in general... But he asked me out a couple weeks ago and I accepted because of his insistence, but I am not sure about going”. 

“Oh, I see” I added “You should go Claire, only thing that worries me is that the guy is not worth it”. 

“Uh-huh” she said, and added "What do you mean?” 

“You are a really good person Claire, and you only deserve the best. I just hope that Harvey is worth the time you’re going to invest”. 

“His name is Harris...” she said laughing, and opened her mouth as if to say something, but closed it. 

About a minute later she asked softly “And what about you, Brad? Any plans?” 

“Well, I didn’t have plans until 5 minutes ago, but Maggie texted me and we will do some fishing in the afternoon.” 

“Oh, that’s good though” she said. 

And then the elevator went silent again. When we reached the street, I told her “You know what Claire, you should go to your date tomorrow”. 

“I will think about it, thanks Brad”. 

And she started to walk away very fast in the opposite direction we usually took to the subway station. She didn’t even said goodbye. I thought that it was weird, but you know, but Ole Saffitz had her moments of being Half-Sour even back then. 

“GOODBYE CLAIRE!” I yelled. She didn’t seem to hear me as she continued to walk and I had just started walking a couple of feet when I heard my name as if it was being called from a very distant place, so I turned around. 

“BRAD!” It was Claire, she was shouting my name from a couple hundred feet away and looked very tiny in the middle of the sidewalk. 

“WHAT?” I yelled back  . 

“WHEN YOU SAID I AM A GOOD PERSON, DID YOU REALLY MEAN IT?” 

“HELL YEAH CLAIRE!” 

“I NEED TO START DOING THE THINGS I’VE NEVER DONE BRAD! GOODBYE!” 

And although I couldn’t see her clearly, I swear I noticed how her eyes smiled.  And then she turned around and started to run. And I stayed there in the middle of the sidewalk, looking Claire become smaller and smaller as she ran away under the skies of Manhattan. 


	5. V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look into Claire's past life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took a while, but we're back. Comments and suggestions are welcome, as always.

**Arthur Borodin, Sainte-Anne Hospital Center, Paris, January 2037.**

My memory is not what it used to be, but the people here take care of me well. Julia, the nurse, always brings my pills in the morning, and allows me to take a daily walk at the Rue Cabanis after my morning coffee (‘don’t get lost _Monsieur_ Borodin’ she reminds me) and comes to take me for lunch at noon. I can’t complain, I guess, but this is not what I had in mind for my 40s. I thought I would get a job at the _Times_ and retire someday after winning the Pulitzer, but my mind and my obsession for the details are the only things that I can blame as the reasons for my reclusion in this place.

I am a slave to the details as someone said once. And details are what everyone wanted. I started doing investigative journalism for a small newspaper in Boston. When the crisis of 2012 hit, the newspaper closed, and I had to live in my car for about two months. I needed a job -desperately-, and when a friend told me that the Food and Cultural Section at the New York Gazette needed a freelance journalist, I accepted without thinking it twice. Can’t complain, the job gave me enough to survive in New York, I had a small apartment in Brooklyn and had a bike to move around town. Kept expenses at minimum, and as long as I was able to have some decent coffee and a doughnut every Friday night, I thought I was doing well. I did articles on food trends, sushi chefs in New York that were part of the _yakuza_ on a previous life, street food icons… I covered a lot of topics and the newspaper sold well every week.

However, by mid-2019 John, the editor of our section was in need of some new ideas and all the staff had a meeting on a Friday night (just coffee, no doughnuts). “Guys” -he said- “we are in need of some fresh ideas, our section needs to be more dynamic”.

Of course, everyone had an idea: “explore the roots of international cuisine in New York”, said someone, “let’s put some recipes online” said someone else, “why don’t we run a special series edition?” I suggested. “About what, Art?” said Sara, another freelance journalist that covered the other half of our section content. “About the BA Test Kitchen” I replied, looking her in the eye.

“And how?”

“Look, everyone knows them, but no one has ever tried to bring the story behind each one, how they became part of the Staff, why they’ve become so popular”.

“Interesting” said John, “but you are aware that we are a small newspaper and don’t have the money to pay BA to get to them”.

“We don’t need to interview them” I replied.

My plan was simple: I would do a series of articles of investigative journalism on each one of the BA Test Kitchen Staff. Where they lived, what they did, things that shaped them… everything to try to understand why they were so popular, and to connect the cultural impact they were having.

“And who would be the first one?” John asked.

“Claire Saffitz”

At this point you must be aware that the BA Test Kitchen phenomenon was by no means strange to me, -I watched every new episode that came out- and that’s why I proposed the idea in the first place. But what John didn’t know is that I chose Claire because from all the group, I thought she was very particular: No one seemed to know very much about her previous life, why she had this personality that made you binge watch _Gourmet Makes_ just to see _her_. The concept behind the show was very clever, but the reason why it was a hit was because Claire was the host.

The problem with what I wanted to do was that I couldn’t contact her directly. I had to do the job in the old-fashioned way: hitting the road on my 2004 Ford Taurus, collecting information, doing some interviews, visiting the places where she lived, and if things were good enough maybe going to Cambridge within a couple weeks.

So, armed with a jar of Colombian coffee, enough hot water and a dozen of bagels I hit the road. It took me 16 hours to get to St. Louis, but I did it. Stayed in a small motel and the next morning I met with a professor she had in High School, saw the yearbook when she was a senior, and had lunch in a café with a woman who I was told was Claire’s best friend back in the day. From there, I went back to New York, spoke with John about what I had gathered, which he liked, and he sent me straight to Boston for two days. I went to Harvard, where I saw the 2009 Yearbook and visited the houses where Claire lived as a freshman and as a senior. I was even lucky enough to talk to a couple of persons that knew her from those days, and that helped me shape the last bits of my article.

From there, I went back to my apartment in New York, where I wrote frantically for four days and sent the article to the editor. It appeared on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving as the cover of the Food and Cultural section.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

##  **Behind the scenes: The BA Test Kitchen Staff (I)**

**By Arthur Borodin**

_Note from the editor: If you are reading this, it is very likely that you know about the Bon Appétit phenomenon that has taken over the internet within the last three years. A midpoint between the Office and the Food Network, the BA Test Kitchen Staff have become stars in a short period of time. Their cultural influence is something few could have predicted five years ago. Among them, one of the most prominent characters is pastry chef Claire Saffitz. This classic French cuisine-trained, Harvard-educated chef is the host of Gourmet Makes, a show where she attempts to recreate junk food while navigating through different stages of joy, anger, frustration and humor. While Ms. Saffitz is clearly a celebrity, very little is known of her previous life. The first article of this series tries to shed some light on who Claire Saffitz is, an approximation on the delicate intricacies in the life of someone that one day became the internet’s most beloved pastry chef._

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St. Louis is a city that everyone associates with the Gateway Arch, its baseball team and the pork ribs that bear its name. It was in this city that Claire Julia Saffitz was born on September 16, 1986 at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital. The last of three sisters, Claire seems to have enjoyed a normal and fruitful childhood in Clayton. The house where the family lived in those days no longer exists, but it’s not hard to imagine her playing around with some of her neighbors in the early 90’s when outdoor activities where still a normal part of most children’s life. The neighbors that still live in the area remember her family. “Of course I remember Dr. Saffitz and his family” said Irene Lebowicz, a retired professor that lives in the same block where the Saffitz residence was located. “They were really nice, Sauci (Sharon, Claire’s mother) used to make granola from time to time and she would share it with many of us here in the neighborhood“ she added “their girls were always very polite and greeted everyone, they would play with my kids on the weekends, riding their bikes or building something on their backyard”. 

At Washington University, where Claire’s father worked between 1984 and 1999 the staff remember him as a very educated man with a contagious laugh. “Jeffrey was a very funny man” noted Dr. Simon Tallhauser, head of the Pathology Department “I consider him a mentor that taught me the intricacies of academia, and I am not mistaken when I say that his influence was cardinal on his daughters, specially Claire”.

Claire attended Clayton schools since kindergarten all the way up to high school. “From an early age it was clear that she was special” said Susan Teson, who was Claire’s English professor at Clayton High School and that has fond memories of the time Claire was in her class. “Claire was a very intelligent girl, very determined and perfectionist. After meeting her parents for the second or third time, it was obvious to me that both of them had great influence in the character of her daughter, but it was especially noticeable with her dad, because we asked him to give a lecture on the Cardiovascular system one time, and hearing him speak and explain things was like hearing Claire”. The only problem with that, she says, is that Claire had breakdowns every now and then because she was constantly competing with herself. “I had to sit with her every now and then to check that things were going well, and if I saw that she was stressing too much, I would tell her to go home, have some ice cream and forget about everything for a day or two”.

The page in the 2005 Yearbook shows a smiling Claire with her characteristic dark hair and a quote from Jonathan Swift: _When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him_. While foreshadowing the things to come, it is unknown if Claire was aware of Ignatius Rilley’s misfortunes, which could certainly give a twist on the quote that appears next to her picture.

Anne Merck, a microbiologist who was Claire’s best friend in high school provides some insight on the non-academic side of Claire: “Claire was very serious about school, she helped me a lot with Math. We would go together to do some fly fishing in the summer, and then we would go to her house to make cherry pie with her mom and watch a Star Wars marathon in her house. I remember once we were riding our bikes from school and it was pouring, her front tire fell in a pothole filled with rainwater, and she landed flat on her stomach. I was really worried because I could tell she was in a lot of pain, but she insisted on continuing the ride until we got to her house. She had some bruises and a huge blow in her stomach, but when we changed clothes and sat on the couch with some ice cream she looked at me smiling and said “We made it, Anne”. I think that showcases how perseverant -or stubborn- she could be. I also think that the fact that her mom cooked a lot is what made her lean to the culinary side later, she was always helping her”. They remained good friends until the end of the their senior year, when Claire knew she was going to Harvard and moving away from St. Louis. “We both cried a lot when they moved to Boston and she went to Harvard, and although life has changed for both of us in many ways, I am glad to see that she is getting the recognition she deserves” she concludes.

Coincidentally, the same year Claire entered Harvard her father was appointed at the same university as a professor, and the family relocated.

Records show that Claire lived in Harvard her freshman and senior years, which would make sense if her family lived in Cambridge at the time.

“By the time I met Claire she was this nerdy cute girl that came sometimes to the bar where our band played in the weekends” said Oliver, who owns a small pizzeria in Cambridge and who accepted to be interviewed without disclosing his full name. “Back then I worked in an Italian restaurant during the week and had a band where I played the guitar every now and then. I noticed her the second time she came to see our show, and we talked afterwards. I really liked her, I could tell she was on a different league, but was very down-to-earth and didn’t say no when I asked her out, which to me was already a win, you know. We went that Sunday to some used bookstores and spent the day walking and laughing a lot. She had a sweet tooth, she always was eager to try some ice cream or pastry and was very critical of what she ate in general. We weren’t formally dating I guess, but we enjoyed our time together. However, as the Fall progressed she started to get busier and wasn’t able to go out much. One day she told me she was worried of getting a B in an Anthropology class. I told her that a B wasn’t bad, but she got angry when I said it.

“You’re saying a B is not bad?!” she said.

“Yeah, it’s not bad, I know you’ve done very well in the rest of your classes. Why do you get angry?”

"I can’t make a B!”

“Claire, a B is great, just don’t take it too seriously”

“I take it very seriously!”

“Yeah, I bet you do! Ms. Harvard-perfection-obsessive!”

“What?!”

“Yeah, you are always obsessed with getting everything perfect!”

"I shouldn’t have said that, but I did. I was an idiot, I know, I still regret that fight and seeing her walk away. We never spoke again after that. One day a video pops out and I can’t believe what I see, Claire’s is a chef and is making Kit Kats! What can I say, the twists of life. I am happy for her, she deserves what she’s got".

“That day Claire came back and I noticed she had been crying” comments Rhoda Boone, a psychologist who was Claire’s roommate then “She wouldn’t talk initially, but I kept asking why she had cried, and she told me about this guy she had been seeing, and the fight they got into. This has been a mistake, she said. We have complete opposite personalities; this was never going to work. But I’ve learned my lesson Rhoda".

"The rest of the time we were together she focused only in her classes. I made sure she stayed hydrated and gave her some emotional support when I thought she needed it, and she made us dinner in the student kitchen everyday . Our last semester together she wasn’t sure of what she was going to be doing next, she was good at writing but hadn’t decided on a career. She moved back with her parents and I got a job in Philadelphia, so we didn’t see each other much after college, although we stayed in touch. One day I got an email from her telling me that she was going to France to study French cuisine and that she wanted to say goodbye. We met in Boston and had a good time, walking and chatting about the days we were in college, she told me she was going to France because she thought she could mix writing and cooking, but that was a little afraid of going overseas. "You will be fine"I told her "I am really proud of you".

"We hugged each other and said goodbye. She left for France within a couple days".

Claire graduated with honors from Harvard in 2009. The picture in the Harvard Yearbook shows her smiling at the camera while a caption on the left of the picture reads "Claire Julia Saffitz, American History and Literature". The bright, sparkling look in her eyes from her High School Yearbook is the same, but there is also a sense of knowledge, of growth. _"Elegance is not the prerogative of those who have just escaped from adolescence, but of those who have already taken possession of their future" _, reads a second quote from Coco Chanel at the bottom of Claire's High School Yearbook picture. And I believe dear reader, you and I couldn't agree more.

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